Scavengers, lobotomy, flowers in vases, and the inner and outer anatomy of the body are some of the themes and motifs Henriette Hellstern has explored through her paintings. Hellstern ranges widely; from the classical still life, to the dark history of psychiatry, to sober depictions of musculature and skeletons. The style fluctuates between the expressive and the meticulously precise, reproduced from scientific drawings of flora and anatomy – and ever colourful.
Hellstern’s practice centres on humankind, nature, and the relation between the two. The love of nature comes from Hellstern’s upbringing on the island Mols, while the fascination with the human body stems from frustrations with a body that is not always able to do what she wants it to. Maybe that is why Hellstern’s figures are able to do more with their bodies than normally, just like rainforest plants and clovers grow in one and the same landscape. The figures can even be portrayed through flowers and plants, or pines can grow out of their heads instead of hair. In an attempt to cultivate a more open and tolerant view on humanity, her figures are mostly not gendered, as Hellstern herself has experienced rejection and silencing in relation to her queer identity. Through her surreal imagery and her unique nature metaphors, Hellstern questions the meaning of nature, and what humans are really made of.
Hellstern’s contribution to the exhibition consists of four canvases hung from the ceiling in a square shape. The viewer is invited to walk around the four works, like the Trojans curiously walked around the wooden horse. Green, red, orange, and blue are the backgrounds of flight, struggle, bravery, and frustration; four of Cassandra’s emotional states. There are arms and legs in movement and arms and legs going nowhere. A victorious fist reaches towards the sky. Another hand points to the future surrounded by blood-red hands and feet. The two skeletons are unidentifiable, representing universal human figures that might as well have been you and me. The violet figure holds a ruta graveolens that can supposedly enable you to see into the future. By the feet of the skeleton grow poisonous mushrooms, as well as the symbol of the purity of mind; the persistent lotus flower that rises through the mud. Cassandra is also portrayed in fast and furious motion, despite having only one leg. Her hair is on fire, and sparks are spewing from her fluttering hair, but her heart is beating undeterred, while a flesh-eating plant is chasing her.
Text by art historian Natalia Gutman
Photo by artist Rine Rodin
Contact Henriette Hellstern for more info.